HSBC last night shrugged off fears it's being hit by Britain's bad debts crisis - and powered the FTSE 100 back towards the 5,500 mark.

A clampdown on lending to those with poor credit records helped the bank boost third quarter earnings and climbed 1.1 per cent.

Oil groups also lit up the leaderboard as a sharp fall in crude stocks in the US sparked fresh fears of a supply shortage. BP moved 2.4 per cent higher, followed by Cairn Energy, up 2.1 per cent, and Shell 1.2 per cent.